My Hero Goten
by JennieJane
Summary: Goten heard stories about his father. He heard a tale about a king. But could it really be that Goku is an imprisoned king and Goten his hero?


Author's Notes: Hi everyone! I'm here with a new one-shot! ^^ I made a few changes with some ages, but that's just to make them fit in the story. As you read you'll see what I mean

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

"Gohan! I want this!" Goten exclaimed excitedly while shoving a book right in front of his older brother's face. The older half-saiyan held the book in his hands with a cocked eyebrow. On its cover, the blue book had a black-haired man wearing royal attire with a golden crown to complete the look, right above the seemingly king's head was written, _'The Righteous King'._ Gohan read the summary at the back and glanced at his overly eager younger brother before averting his gaze to the book again.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked receiving an enthusiastic nod from Goten, "Well, what do people say when they want something from others?"

"Please Gohan?" Goten replied automatically. The two bought the book and left the library Gohan used to come to with ChiChi. Gohan sighed, the mention of ChiChi reminding him of why they were there in the first place.

_Earlier that day…_

_Gohan was busy doing his homework when a loud knock broke his concentration. He opened the door and saw a very tired looking ChiChi. Since Goku was gone, Gohan began helping his mother a lot more than he usually did. Moreover, whenever anything bad happens with ChiChi, Gohan was the first to hear her complaint. However, for the first time since a month when she had known that Goku wasn't coming back, Gohan was surprised at the sight of his mother, not because of the exhaustion clearly observed on her features… far from it, the fatigue was always there, but it was the sadness and anger she was so hardly containing that amazed yet scared Gohan. He knew that a furious ChiChi was never good news. And he had been right._

_"Goten is not learning a thing!" she complained, "I sit with him all day, teaching him all sorts of new things. But when I ask him some questions related to what I was explaining, he draws a blank or tells me something about food!" she was close to tears now, "Why is he turning out to be like… like…" she covered her eyes with her hands. Gohan hugged his mother comfortingly and rubbed her back, not knowing what else to do, he waited for her to finish and continue what she was here for. After a few minutes, ChiChi wiped her eyes, and watched her son, "I came up with a decision, Gohan." She continued with calmer tone, "I want you to try to teach Goten." Before Gohan could give excuses on why he couldn't do that, ChiChi motioned to stay silent, "Everything I've been trying has been failing, and I really, really need rest. But at the same time, I don't want Goten to be stupid when he grows up. You know very well that I can't put him in a school like other kids. So, please Gohan, just for a while, try to teach your brother. Maybe you can figure out a way to do that since you're both half-saiyans." Gohan thought about it for a while. He didn't want to teach Goten. It's not that he wanted him to be dim, but he just didn't want to hang around his father's look-alike while knowing truly well that he was never going to see his father again. However, although he felt like turning around and slamming the door, he couldn't leave his mother like she is right now. She was trying to cope with their new life, and he would give it a shot too. He swallowed and gave a curt nod. The dark-haired woman smiled and kissed her son's forehead in thanks. _

_"Why don't you try to make him read a few things? Maybe that'll help." She suggested as she made her way to her bedroom. Not so long after that, snores could already be heard from the room she just entered. _

And here they were now. He didn't know if his mother meant what they had bought by 'reading a few things'. He checked the contents of the plastic bag he was holding. Inside it were three books. One of them was the one Goten picked, another was the story of 'The Three Goats Gruff', and the last one was, 'The Gingerbread Man'. Gohan sighed; his mother was not going to be happy…at all. But what could he have done? Goten didn't want to read any other books and when he tried to convince him to buy a book that teaches him about different kinds of cultures, Goten started yelling and shouting, and when Gohan didn't put it back, Goten threw himself to the ground and thumped his fists against the marble floor never stopping his screaming fit, which made Gohan's face burn red with humiliation as people paused whatever they were doing to watch the bawling boy. He quickly returned the book and decided to buy whatever Goten desired; then, get out of there in one piece. His plan partially worked, but he was going to hear the longest lecture of his life because of it. Gohan was so lost in thought that he didn't notice his brother's abrupt stop. When he didn't hear any footsteps following him, he looked back. Goten was there alright, not much a distance away. However, right in front of him was a big, black dog. The dog was barking happily at the child, its tail was wagging back and forth. But Goten, wasn't close to sharing the dog's cheerfulness. His face was pale and was almost as white as a ghost. Gohan walked towards the kid, and when he got closer to them, the dog dashed away in fear. Goten was still frozen in his place, not moving a muscle.

"Come on, Goten! Don't tell me you're afraid of that dog, now are you?" Gohan said with a disarming grin. Goten shook his head a few times and hurried after his brother. The two finally made it to their far house in the mountain. Fortunately for Gohan, ChiChi was still asleep, her snores were even louder which indicated that she wasn't waking up any time soon.

"Gohan!" the younger of the two called loudly while tugging at Gohan's shirt. Gohan put a finger to his mouth in a silent plea to be quiet. Catching the meaning, Goten continued in a whisper, "Can you please read me this?" he asked as he pulled the last book he chose from the bag. Gohan weighed his options, he could one: leave his brother right there and go finish his homework or do other things, or two: do as Goten asked and have some quality time with the Goku clone. He watched his brother. He had the same innocent eyes as his dad's, the same weird hair. They even shared the same attitude and happy-go-lucky personality. Gohan sighed and nodded earning the famous goofy Goku smile in return. Gohan bit back a wince and let a comment slide through his lips.

"You look and act just like dad Goten." He didn't know if it was just him, but Goten seemed to brighten up more after that statement.

"Krillin says that Daddy is a hero, is that right Gohan?" the young saiyan asked prompting a nod from the elder, "So does that make me a hero too?" he inquired with shining eyes. Again, Gohan decided to nod, if only to make his sibling happier than he already was. The duo made their way to the living room and closed the door in order not to disturb ChiChi's slumber. Gohan put the bag he was holding on one of the couches and sat on another, Goten hastily following suit. Gohan opened the book and started reading.

"The Righteous King. In a kingdom so far away, a beautiful village flourished with great wealth and happiness under the rule of its honorable king and ruler. Everything was fine and well up until an ominous darkness conquered the land of prosperity. The villages were destroyed, the villagers were rendered homeless, children cried and stomachs growled due to starvation. And the king was not left unharmed, the cruel monster that opposed the king's rule, overthrew him and locked him in a shell. The villagers tried to save their king, but one after one; they were killed… until none of them dared confront the evil that ruined their lives. A legend said that three pearls of the colors blue, red and yellow were needed to free the king from his prison, it was also said that those pearls would be found by none other than a faithful hero." Gohan looked up from the book at his brother, only to find him in a deep sleep. He smiled at his sleeping form and stifled a yawn. 'Well, a few hours of sleep never did anyone any harm…' he thought to himself. Sometime later, both boys were lost in their own worlds of dreams.

Goten woke up to find himself in a small tunnel that he was barely able to fit in. He crawled on his hands and knees towards a light at the end of the tunnel. Once he got out, he saw a white rabbit hopping about. Before he could follow it, however, someone caught him and held him up in the air.

"Can it really be this kid?" one of the two cloaked men asked the other.

"I'm sure he is! You know the tale says the person who gets out of that tunnel is no doubt our hero." The shorter one spoke, "But I gotta say, kiddo, I expected you to be older."

"And taller," the other added with a smirk, "But better than nothing, anyways. So what's your name?"

"My name's Son Goten!" he answered gleefully.

"Please come with us, Goten." The shorter man said causing the other to let go of Goten. Goten remembered his mother telling him not to trust strangers, especially ones who he couldn't see the faces of, but he also remembered that when someone says please, you have to do what he says. Going with the second rule, Goten nodded and followed the two. They kept walking between the tall, green trees and various colorful plants until they reached a clearing. The land had many houses built on it, but all of them seemed run down and old. Everything in the village spoke of ancient times, and the smell of it was no different. Suddenly, some adults, wearing the same cloaks as the other two, were seen. One of the two who lead Goten to that placed shared a few words with one of the new people. Then, all of the people there removed the cloaks, and a bunch of kids surrounded one of them. Goten's eyes opened wide as he studied each person. The two that brought him here… looked exactly like Yamcha and Krillin. The woman who was surrounded with kids seemed to be Bulma. The only difference between the ones here and the ones Goten knew was their attire. The person who 'Yamcha' talked to came forth and stood in front of Goten. The young boy smiled from ear to ear.

"Grandpa!" he shouted just before tackling the man with a hug. The man was at a loss of what to do, so he got the boy away from him and put him down. The man coughed a few times. Goten grinned at the old man anyways, and looked up at him cheerfully.

"Hello, Goten. I am the Ox-King, and I'm here to ask you to fulfill your destiny of freeing us all from the terror of the monster that has raided out lands!" the man's sentence was followed by numerous cheers.

"Yes, Goten! You're going to be the hero of our nation!" One of the women exclaimed from between the crowd.

"M…Me?" he stammered, "A… hero?"

"Yes! You're going to defeat the monster and recover the wealth we once had." the blue-haired woman said with a smile, "We have been unjustly starved for ages! And the children are famished!" she said before she started weeping, the kids following her lead.

"Yes! I will help the ones in need and be a hero!" Goten exclaimed joyfully.

"Very well, Goten. For the journey of finding the pearls that will bring us our king back and defeat the monster, I will present you with a faithful friend during your trips." The Ox-king turned around and Krillin gave him a wooden cage. The cage wasn't empty for inside it was a Gohan twin, except this Gohan had wings and had his arms crossed over his chest in a very Vegeta-like manner. Goten chuckled at the petite bee-like version of his brother. The elder unlocked the cage and held the miniature Gohan in his hand.

"Now, bee, please help Goten complete his quest and destiny." The bee just scowled as it got handed over to Goten.

"Gohan!" Goten exclaimed whilst hugging the bee tightly.

"Ouch! Ouch! My bones! Let me go!" the bee screamed with Gohan's voice. Goten left the bee and it flew right in front of him, fuming with anger, "Who do you think you are crushing me like that?"

"You're my brother Gohan! And I missed you!" Goten replied disregarding the wrath the small bee held.

"No, I'm not 'Gohan' and I'm not your 'brother'. My name is Dee and I'm a bee!" The winged being said as it flew in circles as if to prove its point. Then, Yamcha walked towards the two and held a sword.

"Here, Goten! You're going to need this on your journey!" he said as he handed him the sword. After some time, Goten left with the bee, the voices of the villagers merging into one and wishing them luck trailing behind them. They were getting farther and farther away from the village. And just as they couldn't hear the sounds coming from it anymore, Gohan spotted a black-haired lady sitting peacefully at the edge of the cliff. He flew towards her and Goten followed him.

"Hi! My name's Son Goten!" he greeted, startling the woman who jumped and fell off the cliff she was on. Goten and Dee's eyes bulged from their heads. Goten went to the side of the cliff and looked down. He found the woman completely fine, holding on to a branch as if her life depended on it… and it did. Thus, Goten, reached down and pulled the woman up. He looked at her, and he was once again shocked by finding that it was none other than his mother, ChiChi!

"Hello Mrs. ChiChi. Sorry to startle you." Dee said politely, "But I was wondering what are you doing out here?"

"Well, you see Dee, I'm going to stay out here until this darkness leaves our lands!" she said determinedly, "I won't eat, won't drink and won't get out of here before that happens!"

"But you'll die!"

"It's better to die here than to die around those who are being so cruelly starved!" she exclaimed.

"Well, you're lucky because Goten is the hero who's going to stop evil from spreading!" Dee said with a smile.

"You're the hero?" ChiChi asked Goten who nodded vigorously, "Then, you're going to need this!" she said as she produced a red pearl and gave it to the boy.

"The red pearl! Thanks Mrs. ChiChi!" the woman nodded at the two boys who turned around and continued their way, "Well, Goten, we found one now we need two more! And I think I know where we should go!" The two persisted with their trip until they reached a river bank.

"Piccolo! Where are you?" Dee called. Some minutes passed, yet nothing happened. Suddenly, the grass beside the duo started moving and a green Namek stepped out of it.

"There you are!" Dee said happily, "We need your boat!"

"No." Piccolo instantly refused.

"Why not?"

"Because it's mine, and I don't want you to have it."

"What if I tell you that we need it to get the pearls, free the king and live like we desire?" Dee pressed.

"Do I get to fight the king?" Piccolo asked, interested.

"I said _live like we desire. _Do whatever you want." After that statement, Piccolo pushed a small boat in front of them, "Thanks!" And with that, Dee and Goten set out to sail. Goten was holding on to the boat as much as he could.

"I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown!" he shouted in fear as the boat kept moving from side to side as the current pushed it all over the river.

"We're going to be fine." Dee tried reassuring the nervous child. Then, unexpectedly, a hand rushed out of the water and got pasted to the boat. Soon enough, another hand caught the other side of the boat. The owner of the hands got out of the water. He had three eyes and a puppet was right beside him. They were both smirking devilishly at the duo.

"Give us all that you have!" Tien shouted while Chiaotzu chuckled evilly. However, just when they were going to steal the pearl from Dee and Goten, an arrow found its mark on Tien's sleeve and glued him to the boat.

"Huh?" the thieves wondered aloud as a short figure came into view. The newest arrival pointed his sword to the leader's head.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do anything stupid." His gruff voice spoke addressing the puppet who was aiming an arrow of its own at him. Exactly one minute and fifteen seconds later, the savior of the two had the thieves in chains. Goten finally had the chance to look upon their rescuer and he was astounded beyond words to recognize the knight as none other than the saiyan prince, Vegeta.

"So what are you doing out here?" Vegeta asked.

"We're going to free everyone from the unfair ruler!" Dee exclaimed, "And our hero, Goten, is the one who's gonna do it!"

"How could he be a hero if he couldn't defend himself against some weaklings?" the saiyan prince stated matter-of-factly. Receiving no answer, he continued, "Do whatever you like, but now these morons are about to pay for stealing from everyone who has passed this river!" he aimed his sword at the robbers.

"No! Don't!" Goten yelled, speaking for the first time. Vegeta raised an eyebrow, "I know they're going to be better people if you give them a chance to be!" Vegeta smirked at the lad.

"You might not look like it, kid, but you have the true heart of an honorable champion. So be it, I'll leave these two alive... this time." He said before vanishing from sight.

"Thank you, Goten. And for helping us, we'll give you this." Chiaotzu said while offering a yellow pearl to the duo.

"We will also try to do what you said we should be. We're going to be better people and we're not going to steal anything from anyone ever again!" Tien added while Goten nodded happily. Later, Goten and Dee were on land again.

"We still need the last one, Goten." Dee stated. Goten looked around where they were and saw something shining in the distance.

"There's something over there." He said as he pointed at the glowing object, "Let's go check it out." In fact, on top of a huge white mountain, a blue pearl was situated. However, when Goten got halfway to the pearl, he found out that what they thought was a mountain… wasn't. The white he was on started shaking, and a blue-haired head protruded from the end of the thing he was on. The creature started making baby sounds, and Goten realized that this was Trunks' little sister, Bulla! Goten screamed as Bulla got up to crawl away. He held on tighter to the diaper. Due to all the movement, the blue pearl that was on the diaper slid down and fell to the ground. Goten, seeing no reason to stay there, left the diaper, and the giant baby continued crawling away. Goten dusted himself off and grabbed the pearl.

"You got it!" Dee spoke cheerfully, "Come on, we have to free the king!" The two then walked through the forest until they reached a foggy wasteland. At the end of it was a huge shell.

"The king must be there! Hurry!" However, when they took the first step, a voice so loud boomed in the area.

"Who dares cross my land?" The voice was getting closer so its possessor was undoubtedly moving nearer as well. Some minutes later, a huge black creature was visible. It howled loudly towards the heavens. Goten couldn't believe his eyes! It was the same black dog he had encountered on his way home! He took a step back. He didn't like this dog, not one bit.

"Come on Goten! Grab your sword and charge!" Dee cheered, but Goten couldn't do it. He swallowed. He remembered the people and how they were living. He remembered that they needed food and safety. He also remembered that… they were all counting on him to bring back their kingdom to its past wealth and security. That thought sent new power through Goten's system. His heart was pumping courage and bravery to all organs in his body. He grabbed his sword and hit the creature with it. The creature let out a shout of pain.

"I will never do it again! I promise! Please don't kill me!" The black dog whimpered. Goten motioned for it to leave and leave it did.

"Well, for an evil so strong, he was pathetic." Dee remarked, and Goten nodded in agreement. Then, the two continued their way towards the shell. Dee placed the pearls in their places and they both watched in awe as the shell opened casting a bright light over the place. Goten covered his eyes with his hands for the light was so brilliant and strong. He felt a hand on his shoulder, so he opened his eyes slowly to see a person older yet identical to him watching him.

"You saved me Goten. Thank you." The king said with a smile, which Goten returned, "My people were abandoned for too long a time, and now, I, King Goku, will make sure that our previous wealth will return! And that's all thanks to you Goten!" To say Goten was happy was an understatement; he finally got to meet his dad! Well, maybe not his _real _dad, but this was close enough.

Back at the Sons' house, ChiChi had just gotten up from her sleep. She went to the living room and found the books Gohan had bought for Goten. What she found made her blood boil. They didn't find anything better than fairy tales? She was about to scream her head off at both of them, but the sight she found them in stopped her. Instead, she went back to her bedroom and caught a picture. In it, Gohan was sleeping soundly with one of his arms around his brother while Goten had a smile plastered on his face, leaning even closer to his older brother. It was a sight ChiChi had never seen in exactly one month: A family's love. Things were changing for the better… even more than she had thought when she gave Gohan the responsibility of tutoring Goten. And she was mighty glad about how everything seemed to be fine. She put the lights out and let her angels continue their sleep.

The next day, Goten had just finished telling Gohan all about his dream.

"And I saved Daddy at the end Gohan! And he was a king!" Gohan shook his head in amazement.

"You made Piccolo seem like a troll, Vegeta a knight who believes in justice, Tien and Chiaotzu thieves and me… you dreamt that I was a bee?" Gohan said disbelievingly.

"You're missing the point Gohan! I was a hero there!" Goten argued.

"You _were _a hero there Goten?" the boy nodded, "Oh Goten! But you're my hero here!"

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review on what you thought and if you like this story, don't forget to vote for it in my poll!


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